


A place to come to grips with reality.

by LittleSweetCheeks



Series: The Hearth Series [18]
Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: Anger, Gen, Grief, Loss, Minor Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-23
Updated: 2018-01-23
Packaged: 2019-03-08 14:09:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13459875
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LittleSweetCheeks/pseuds/LittleSweetCheeks
Summary: She wanted to scream it, scream it until she had no more voice. So, she did.





	A place to come to grips with reality.

** A place to come to grips with reality. **

“No!” She shouted. She wanted to scream it, scream it until she had no more voice. So, she did. “No! No no no!” It became a mantra, screaming, over and over, fighting against the villain she couldn’t see. It seemed to go on for hours, an entire lifetime. Until there was pain, but the pain did not stop her, only fueled her rage even further. It all stopped when suddenly she was restrained.

Caught.

She fought against the bindings with all she had- kicking, biting, scratching, whatever she could manage. But the bindings did not set her free. She fought until her body simply had no more fight. As she gave in and sagged into whatever was holding her down, she realized that through the haze, she could feel a deep rumbling against her ear. It took a few minutes longer for her brain to catch up. Talking. Someone was talking. The same someone who was holding her so tight.

A second wind welled up within her and she tried again to break free, but the arms- she knew they were arms now- didn’t let go. And the speaking paused a moment before continuing again.

JJ blinked to focus her eyes, working to clear the dryness from having cried for so long. She was in her own kitchen, what was left of it. There were broken dishes on the counter, and by the sound of crunching under shoes, on the floor. Two of the glass fronts of her cabinets were smashed out as well, it looked like a tornado had blown through.

Hotch felt the moment she sagged in his arms, her whole body giving up the fight, and held her tighter. Looking around, he spotted the single chair that hadn’t been overturned and moved them to it, forgetting any sense of boundaries as he pulled her into his lap.

The clock, only saved from the disaster due to location, ticked in the silent room for half an hour before JJ finally spoke from her place, still pulled against Hotch’s chest. “Where is everyone else?”

She felt as much as heard his answer through the rumbling in his chest. “I made them leave. I doubt they went far.”

“Is this real?”

He wished beyond anything that he could say no. “Yes.” He felt her begin to pull away and held her tight. “I’m not leaving, JJ, no matter what.”

She nodded and that must have been enough because he released her enough to sit up and assess the damage to her house. “Everything’s destroyed.”

“Nothing that can’t be replaced.”

She turned to face him for the first time since he’d stood in her kitchen and spoke those words, the words that changed her life forever. Whatever she was going to say faded o her tongue as she looked at him. “You’re hurt!”

“I’m okay, JJ.”

Pulling back, she looked him over. He was still dressed the way he’d been when he’d knocked on her door, the rest of the team behind him. He must have come from the office because while everyone else had been dressed casually, Hotch had still been in a suit. A suit that was now spattered with drops of blood, smeared where she’d been pressed against him. “Hotch…”

“I’m okay.” He carefully stood and lifted her into the next room so she didn’t cut her feet. “I’ll start to clean up, okay? You get changed. If you need any help with caring for your wounds, call me.”

“Wounds?” She looked at him confused.

Hotch took her hands and lifted them, showing her the cuts. “Will you be okay to do this on your own?”

“I… I think so… yeah.” She turned to walk upstairs.

He watched her until she was out of sight before turning back to the destroyed kitchen with a heavy sigh. He’d have to thank Garcia later, a lot later, for setting up those alerts to his phone regarding the team and their families. He’d been able to cut the local PD off at the pass regarding the car accident Will and Henry had been involved in. He and the team had split up to verify it was indeed them at the morgue and then had met up to tell JJ the news.

Wincing as he prodded the cut on his cheek, he remembered handing her the glass of water, she’d been dead calm and it’d worried him. Then the screaming had started. He’d turned to order the others away when the glass had been launched through the air, hitting him before shattering on the floor.

Finding a broom, Aaron began the careful process of clearing away the shattered glass. It wasn’t the only clean-up he planned on sticking around to do. He really had no intention of leaving her any time in the near future, this was just the beginning of a very long road.

 


End file.
